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Russia respects decisions on Nabucco

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 10 (UPI) -- Moscow respects decisions by Azerbaijan to back the planned Nabucco pipeline to relieve Europe's dependency on Russian gas, Russia's foreign minister said.

"Azerbaijan's decision to participate in energy projects is its sovereign right," Sergei Lavrov told the Trend News Agency. "We respect this. That also goes for the Nabucco pipeline."

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Lavrov said ahead of a meeting in the Azeri capital, Baku, that energy diversity was vital on several fronts, including economic and environmental issues.

"We are against excessive politicization," he added.

The European Union put energy diversification at the top of its agenda in the wake of a January conflict between Moscow and Kiev that left Europe starved for gas as 80 percent of its Russian gas travels through Ukraine.

Nabucco would travel 2,051 miles to link Caspian and Middle Eastern suppliers to European markets through a route that bypasses Russia.

Lavrov said, however, that Moscow recognizes the need to diversify the transit routes for energy resources in the region.

"Russia shares a common understanding of the need to diversify supply routes to ensure European energy security," he said.

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